KUALA LUMPUR: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has washed its hands of the RM2.1 billion Sime Darby fiasco because it considers the GLC's investments as a private matter.
This about-turn came after the PAC had earlier said that it would be looking into the huge losses suffered by Sime Darby.
"Sime Darby is a subsidiary of PNB (Permodalan Nasional Berhad), and its primary stakeholder is EPF (Employee Provident Fund).
"Both cannot be classified as government bodies as their finances come from individual investors," said PAC chairman Azmi Khalid.
"EPF's funds come from its shareholders while PNB's funds come from private investors.
"Therefore, PAC is not qualified to investigate Sime Darby's colossal losses," he said, adding that the PAC arrived at this decision at its Oct 27 meeting.
The decision comes as a surprise, especially after the PAC had said in June that it would be talking to Sime Darby officials, citing it as a matter of public interest.
Sime Darby suffered losses up to RM2.1 billion, incurred by its energy & utilities division (E&U) this year. It said it would resort to civil suits to recover these losses.
However, it did not mention who it would be suing. Sime Darby is also being investigated over the matter by the MACC and the Securities Commission (SC).
Tuna scandal
In an unrelated development, the PAC has questioned both the Ministry of Higher Education and the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) over irregularities listed in the 2009 Auditor General's Report.
Azmi said the PAC talked to officials from the ministry over the Additional Food Programme and will also be speaking to the Malaysian International Tuna Port's (MITP) management next week over its RM80-million loss.
While, Azmi, who is also the Padang Besar MP, promised a PAC report soon, he was tight-lipped on the outcome of the investigations as he said the full report was not ready.
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